N.Z.S.O. and Galway

Press, 8 November 1986, Page 8

N.Z.S.O. and Galway

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, with soloistconductor James Galway at the Christchurch Town Hall Auditorium, Friday, November 7, at 8 p.m. Reviewed by Roger Flury.

James Galway is undoubtedly a most marketable commodity. A capacity audience turned up to hear this superstar present a modest programme of Handel, Mercadante, Gluck, and Schubert which, under normal circumstances, would have attracted a much smaller audience.

Handel’s “Royal Fireworks Music,” with no fewer than eight doublebasses, introduced us to Galway the conductor. His directions seemed clear enough, but there was insufficient variety of texture to maintain interest during all the repeats. It was a Beechamesque performance, with thick orchestral sonorities. Handel's original enormous band would have had a much greater cutting edge than a modern orches-

tra. The audience had really come to hear Galway the flautist. Mercadante’s Flute Concerto in E minor revealed all the qualities for which this amazing musician is famous. The tone was as' golden as the flute, and the technique was dazzling. As a composition it was delightfully unmemorable and, like Mercandante’s operas, lacked the distinctive melodic invention to make it really popular. It is easy to see why Mercadante has been eclipsed by Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. In spite of some rough patches from the violins during the first movement, the orchestra provided alert accompaniment thanks to its leader, Isidor Saslav. The “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” was presented as a tribute to the clarinettist, Ronald Weatherburn, who died recently.

The most substantial item on the programme was Schubert’s Symphony

No. 5. The first movement of this most amiable of symphonies was given a surprisingly unsmiling performance. There was no lilt and very little shaping of phrases, caused mainly by an unyielding tempo. The Andante settled into a comfortable speed and brought forth some expansive playing. A rhythmically tight Minuet, in which the horns were allowed to play out led to a rather less neatly played Trio section. The Finale would have made a slightly disappointing end to the concert but fortunately Galway was prepared with four encores. An absurdly fast “Badinerie,” a delicious Irish march, a piece of Marais, and a virtuoso display of piping held the audience entranced. This was what they had really come to hear, and most people could have happily listened to a whole evening of encores.

It took a while, but the Galway magic shone through in the end.